Handheld low-level laser therapy apparatus

ABSTRACT

A laser therapy device, including: a laser diode that is adapted to produce a monochromatic laser beam; a lens that is adapted to receive the beam directly from the laser diode and exploit the natural divergence of the laser diode to form an essentially coherent monochromatic, collimated beam; wherein the formed beam is adapted to form on a plane perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the beam an elongated illuminated area in which the length of the illuminated area is at least twice the size of the width of the illuminated area; a controller that is adapted to control activation of the laser diode; an encasement enclosing the laser diode, the lens and the controller; wherein the encasement is adapted to be hand held by the user.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a handheld low energy laserdevice for treating people and animals.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The use of light for treating people and animals is well known. Sincethe early history of mankind people have used the light from the sun tohelp cure ailments. In the mid 20'Th century attempts were made to useconcentrated light for treating wounded soldiers in World War II. Inlater years, the laser, which is based on the quantum phenomenon ofstimulated emission, provided an excellent source of concentrated lightfor treating patients. The laser allows the use of a selected intensityof a monochromatic, and essentially coherent. This has been found to beeffective in treating people for various ailments.

The use of a carefully selected wavelengths coherently directed toward aperson provides energy for selectively stimulating processes in livingcells. This can help increase blood flow; excite cell activity andintensify inter-cell communications. Laser light treatments have beenapplied to various ailments such as:

a. Various skeletal and tissue pains and injuries:

-   -   1. Rheumatic and/or chronic joint inflammation;    -   2. Sport injuries, wounds, and fresh scars;    -   3. Lower and upper back pain; neck pains:    -   4. Plantar fasciitis and sprains;    -   5. Tennis elbow;    -   6. Achilles tendon infection:    -   7. Carpal tunnel syndrome;    -   8. Lymphedema-Edema;

b. Medical dermatology:

-   -   1. Acne;    -   2. Burns;    -   3. Scars;    -   4. Hemorrhoids;    -   5. Vitiligo (e.g. discolored skin);    -   6. Herpes simplex;

c. Aesthetics:

-   -   1. Aging and dermatolysis or the face:    -   2. Wrinkles;    -   3. Sensitive skin;    -   4. Post pregnancy stretch marks;

d. dental applications;

e. veterinary applications;

f. Acupuncture treatments;

and other applications.

The use of laser light in therapy has been shown to reduce pain, induceanti-inflammatory activity, induce healing processes and induce skinrejuvenation.

In the past light therapy has been applied by large, expensive andhazardous equipment which requires application by trained personnel.Thus miniature, user safe laser therapy devices, which can be used athome, are desirous.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of an embodiment of the invention, relates to an apparatus andmethod for treating people using a handheld low level laser therapydevice. The device includes a laser diode that provides a monochromaticsingle phased laser beam that disperses with a small angle (e.g. between5-7 degrees) in one direction) and with a larger angle (e.g. between30-40 degrees) in the direction perpendicular to the first direction.The device exploits the natural divergence of the laser diode to producea light beam that illuminate a larger area simultaneously with amonochromatic, essentially coherent and collimated light beam.

The device includes a lens that turns the laser beam into a collimatedbeam wherein the rays from the smaller dispersion angle provides anarrow illumination area and the rays from the larger dispersion angleprovide an elongated illumination area. Optionally, the elongatedillumination area is at least twice the size of the narrow illuminationarea. In some embodiments of the invention the illumination area forms arectangular area. Alternatively, the illumination area is an ellipsoidalarea. Optionally, the beam provides eye safety as a result of thedispersion, which provides less intensity per unit area.

In some embodiments of the invention, the monochromatic laser beam is aninvisible infrared beam. Optionally, the wavelength of the laser beam isbetween 800 to 900 nm. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, avisible light source (e.g. a LED) is used to provide a supplementaryvisible light beam to accompany the invisible light beam so that a userwill be able to see that the device is active and will not point thedevice toward his eyes. In some embodiments of the invention, thevisible light beam coincides with the invisible laser beam.Alternatively, the visible light beam illuminates an area that surroundsthe laser beam forming a frame around the invisible laser beam toenhance user safety.

In some embodiments of the invention, the device is activated by an eyesafety mechanism that is activated by pressing the light emitting endagainst the target that is to be illuminated, to prevent a user fromshining the laser beam without precaution. Alternatively, oradditionally, other activation switches are available on the device.

In some embodiments of the invention the laser diode is activatednon-continuously when the device is activated, for example with a dutycycle of 50% or less. Optionally, the output power of the laser diode iscontinuously controlled by a servo loop that monitors the output of thelaser diode and updates its duty cycle to maintain a constant poweroutput by the laser beam, for example the pulse length or the frequencyof turning on the laser diode are updated responsive to the detectedintensity.

There is thus provided according to an exemplary embodiment of theinvention, a laser therapy device, comprising:

a laser diode that is adapted to produce a monochromatic laser beam;

a lens that is adapted to receive the beam directly from the laser diodeand exploit the natural divergence of the laser diode to form anessentially coherent monochromatic, collimated beam; wherein the formedbeam is adapted to form on a plane perpendicular to the direction ofpropagation of the beam an elongated illuminated area in which thelength of the illuminated area is at least twice the size of the widthof the illuminated area:

a controller that is adapted to control activation of the laser diode;and

an encasement enclosing the laser diode, the lens and the controller;wherein the encasement is adapted to be hand held by the user.

In some embodiments of the invention, the lens is a toroidal lens havinga different lens radius in the direction producing the length of theilluminated area and the direction producing the width of theilluminated area. Optionally, the beam produced by the laser diode is aninfrared laser beam.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the laser therapy deviceincludes a visible light source that produces a visible light beam thatis combined with the laser beam to provide a visible light as anindication of the presence of the invisible laser beam. Optionally, thevisible light source is mounted, so that the image of the light sourceis in the focal plane of the lens. In an exemplary embodiment of theinvention, the visible light beam is adapted to surround the invisiblelaser beam forming a frame enclosing the invisible light beam.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the controller is adaptedto control the duty cycle of the laser diode. Optionally, the controlleris adapted to update the duty cycle of the laser diode to maintain aconstant power output although the intensity of the laser diode changesover time. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the duty cycleof the beam produced by the laser diode is initially less than 50%.Optionally, the device includes a safety mechanism that activates thedevice by pressing the device against the illuminated object. In anexemplary embodiment of the invention, the illuminated area forms arectangular or ellipsoidal shaped area. Optionally, the beam formed isan eye safe beam.

There is further provided according to an exemplary embodiment of theinvention, a laser therapy device comprising:

a laser diode that is adapted to produce a monochromatic laser beam;

a lens that is adapted to receive the beam from the laser diode;

a controller that is adapted to control the duty cycle of the laserdiode and maintain a constant power output; and

an encasement enclosing the laser diode, the lens and the controller;wherein the encasement is adapted to be hand held by the user.

There is further provided according to an exemplary embodiment of theinvention, a laser therapy device, comprising:

a laser diode that is adapted to produce a monochromatic laser beam;

a lens that is adapted to receive the beam from the laser diode;

a controller that is adapted to control activation of the laser diode;

an encasement enclosing the laser diode, the lens and the controller;wherein the encasement is adapted to be hand held by the user; andwherein the device is activated by a safety mechanism by pressing thedevice against the illuminated object.

There is further provided according to an exemplary embodiment of theinvention, a laser therapy device, comprising:

a laser diode that is adapted to produce a monochromatic laser beam;

a visible light source that is adapted to provide a light beam thatsurrounds the beam formed by the laser diode, forming a frame around theillumination pattern formed by the laser beam;

a lens that is adapted to receive the beam from the laser diode;

a controller that is adapted to control activation of the laser diode;

an encasement enclosing the laser diode, the lens and the controller;wherein the encasement is adapted to be hand held by the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be understood and better appreciated from thefollowing detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings.Identical structures, elements or parts, which appear in more than onefigure, are generally labeled with the same or similar number in all thefigures in which they appear, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a handheld low-level laser therapy(LLLT) device for performing laser therapy, according to an exemplaryembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of an internal structure formanufacturing a low-level laser therapy device that demonstrates the useof the natural divergence of the laser diode and lens configuration,according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of an internal structure formanufacturing a low-level laser therapy device with a safety activationmechanism, according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of an internal structure formanufacturing a low-level laser therapy device with a combinationmechanism to superimpose visible light beam over laser beam, accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method of controlling the duty cycle of alaser diode, according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a handheld low-level laser therapy(LLLT) device 100 for performing laser therapy, according to anexemplary embodiment of the invention. In an exemplary embodiment of theinvention, device 100 provides as output an elongated monochromaticcoherent laser beam 170 that is collimated by a lens directly from thenatural divergence of a laser diode embedded in device 100. In contrastto prior art devices, instead of focusing the laser beam from the laserdiode to a single spot to have a stronger illumination on a single spot,the natural tendency of the laser diode is exploited to form anelongated beam to cover a larger area. The standard laser diodetypically has a divergence of about 5-7 degrees along its width andabout 30 to 40 degrees along its length. Instead of using a lens tocorrect the beam to a narrow beam, device 100 uses a lens to form acollimated elongated beam to cover a larger area, for example an area of3-6 cm by 0.5 to 1 cm. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, thelength of the illuminated area is at least twice the width of theilluminated area. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, theresulting elongated beam is essentially coherent having a light beamwith an essentially common phase as accepted for laser diode emission.

Optionally, by illuminating a large area each point is illuminated witha weaker and safer laser beam, for example an eye safe beam, having anintensity, which is not hazardous to a persons eye. More power can bedelivered more accurately to a specific area by illuminating for alonger time or increasing the intensity of the laser diode withoutmoving device 100. In contrast in a single spot laser a single point isilluminated intensely and an area is processed by moving the beam acrossthe user's skin and illuminating each point.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the light sources andelectronic circuitry for powering device 100 are encased in an ergonomicencasement 110 designed to fit into a user's hand. Optionally, device100 includes an on/off switch 125, which turns device 100 on and off.When device 100 is in the on state—it may be activated by pressing on anactivation switch 130 located on the side of encasement 110.Alternatively or additionally, device 100 may be activated by pushingeye safety activation switches 105 against the person or object beingradiated, when using device 100. Activation when pressing against theperson being radiated increase the safety of device 100 since it willnot accidentally allow a user to shine light into the user's eye. Insome cases pressing against the user's skin is advantageous since it mayreduce blood flow and enhance efficiency of the light absorption.Alternatively, in some cases the user may have a wound and it ispreferable to not press against the user's skin.

In some embodiments of the invention, device 100 is powered by aninternal power source (e.g. batteries 135). Alternatively oradditionally, device 100 can be powered by an external power source viaa power-cable (not shown) that is plugged into an external power source,such as a household power socket. Optionally, when the device is pluggedinto an external power source the batteries may be recharged.

In some embodiments of the invention, device 100 includes a display 115,for example an LCD display, which shows various information, such as thestatus of the battery, and/or a timer/counter. In an exemplaryembodiment of the invention, the timer on display 115 is set by the userto a pre-selected value using a selector 120, the value may represent anamount of time in seconds during which the device will remain activewhen activated by the user. The device will count down and deactivatethe device automatically once it counts the pre-selected amount of time.For example if the user whishes to illuminate an area for a specificamount of time, he sets the timer with the desired amount of time andactivates device 100. Device 100 will illuminate the area until the timeruns out.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of an internal structure formanufacturing device 100 that demonstrates the natural divergence of thelaser diode and lens configuration, according to an exemplary embodimentof the invention. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a laserdiode 210 is mounted onto a base 230. In an exemplary embodiment of theinvention, laser diode 210 is selected to emit infra-red radiation witha monochromatic wave length between 800-900 nm and a power output of atleast 100 mw, so that it will be effective in healing the user.Optionally, the wavelength is selected to have optimal performance inproviding power to the biological cells of the user, thus it is possiblethat other wavelengths may be used (e.g. visible light or ultra-violetlight) if found to be more effective in dealing with a specific ailment.Additionally, laser diode 210 may be selected having a stronger orweaker power output.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the light from laser diode210 disperses with a small angle 260 in one direction, and with a largerangle 250 in the perpendicular direction. Optionally, a lens 220 isplaced opposite laser diode 210 to make use of the natural divergence ofthe laser beam produced by laser diode 210 by collimating the dispersinglaser beam and forming an illumination of the elongated monochromaticcoherent laser beam 170 on the skin of the user.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, lens 220 is a toroidal lenshaving a different lens radius in two directions, so that the divergingbeam formed from laser diode 210 will extend perpendicular to the lensand form an elongated illumination from monochromatic coherent laserbeam 170. In some embodiments of the invention, lens 210 has arectangular or ellipsoidal shape and creates a rectangular orellipsoidal illumination. Alternatively or additionally, lens 210 may bea single lens, a double lens or any other combination of lenses as longas it produces the elongated monochromatic coherent laser beam 170 toradiate the user. Optionally, elements other than lenses may affect theunity of phase and direction of the coherent laser beam 170.

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of an internal structure formanufacturing device 100 with an eye safety activation mechanism 300,according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. As mentionedabove, in an exemplary embodiment of the invention, when device 100 isturned on, it can be activated by pressing the eye safety activationswitch 105 against the body of the user. Optionally, eye safetyactivation switch 105 is connected to two sliders 310 and 2 springs 330are inserted on the sliders one for each side. When eye safetyactivation switch 105 is pushed into encasement 110 sliders 310 are moveinward and depress on two micro-switches 320 that instruct controller240 to activate laser diode 210. The use of eye safety activation switch105 prevents the user from activating laser diode 210 and aiming ittoward his eyes or the eyes of another person.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of an internal structure formanufacturing device 100 with a combination mechanism to superimposevisible light beam 160 over laser beam 170, according to an exemplaryembodiment of the invention. In an exemplary embodiment of theinvention, a visible light source 410 (e.g. a LED) is mounted on astructure 430 above laser diode 210 to provide a visible light source.Optionally, structure 430 includes a polished back surface 420 (e.g. amirror) to reflect the visible light towards lens 220, so that it willbe superimposed over the light rays originating from laser diode 210. Insome embodiments of the invention, only specific areas on the backsurface are polished to control the resulting geometry of the visiblelight beam. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a cross sectionof the resulting beam includes an inner area formed by laser beam 170and a larger area formed by visible light beam 160 that surrounds theinner area and provides a visible border around it, so that the userknows where the invisible laser beam is located.

Optionally, the visible light beam 160 serves as a safety measure, byproviding the user with an indication that the invisible laser beam 170is also there and may be dangerous if aimed at a person's eye.

LED 410 is preferably mounted, so that the image of the light source isin the focus of lens 220.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, laser diode 210 is operatedin short pulses at a constant frequency, for example of 10-20 μs with afrequency of 25 KHz providing a 25%-50% duty cycle, so that theresulting laser beam will have enough power to penetrate a users skinbut the total energy output rate per area is low enough to maintain eyesafety if accidentally shined into a persons eyes. In many devices thelaser diode 210 is initially provided with a specific power output thatdeteriorates over time until the laser diode 210 must be replaced (e.g.after 3000-5000 hours of use).

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram 500 of a method of controlling the duty cycleof a laser diode, according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, laser diode 210 iscontrolled by a controller 240 that detects (510) the power output ofthe laser diode. Optionally, controller 240 compares the power output toa stored value to determine if the power output is within a tolerancerange (530) or if laser diode 210 has become weaker and isunderperforming.

If the power output is within the tolerance range then the controllercontinues to periodically monitor the power output of laser diode 210.Otherwise controller 240 calculates (540) an amended duty cycle thatwill provide the desired power output, for example by increasing thepulse length or by raising the activation frequency of laser diode 210.Controller 240 changes (550) the duty cycle, so that device 100maintains a constant power output. Optionally, controlling the dutycycle enables prolonging the lifetime of using device 100 withoutreplacing laser diode 210, although the intensity of laser diode 210deteriorates over time. Optionally, the duty cycle may vary from lessthan 50% to more than 70%, for example from 10% to 100% to maintain aconstant power output.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a stronger laser diode(e.g. 100-900 mw) is used while providing the same power output asgenerated by a weaker laser diode (e.g. less than 100 mw) that iscontinuously on (100% duty cycle). As a result the laser beam is safereven though it is more intense since the beam is on intermittently andthe target can cool off between pulses. When applying the beam to auser's skin the same overall power is delivered over the same amount oftime.

Based on the above description it should be noted that device 100includes a number of features that enhance user safety and/or enhanceclinical efficiency:

1. A visible indication surrounding the laser beam to provide indicationof the position of the laser beam;

2. A stronger laser beam with a controlled pulse length and duty cycleto prevent eye damage, since the beam is active only for a short periodof time in every second;

3. A laser beam that is dispersed over a wide area to enable treatinglarger areas simultaneously with an eye safety light beam;

4. A secure activation switch that is only activated when pressing itagainst the target area.

It should be appreciated that the above described methods and apparatusmay be varied in many ways, including omitting or adding steps, changingthe order of steps and the type of devices used. It should beappreciated that different features may be combined in different ways.In particular, not all the features shown above in a particularembodiment are necessary in every embodiment of the invention. Furthercombinations of the above features are also considered to be within thescope of some embodiments of the invention.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the presentinvention is not limited to what has been particularly shown anddescribed hereinabove. Rather the scope of the present invention isdefined only by the claims, which follow.

I claim:
 1. A laser therapy device, comprising: a laser diode that isadapted to produce a monochromatic laser beam that naturally diverges intwo orthogonal directions; a lens that is adapted to receive the beamdirectly from the laser diode and to exploit the natural divergence ofthe laser diode in two orthogonal directions to form an essentiallycoherent monochromatic, collimated beam in the two orthogonal directionsas output from the lens; the formed beam being adapted to form on aplane perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the beam anelongated illuminated area in which the length of the illuminated areais at least twice the size of the width of the illuminated area as aresult of collimating the beam while exploiting the natural divergenceof the laser diode and the laser therapy device being configured toirradiate a surface with the formed beam without further modification ofthe formed beam; a controller that is adapted to control activation ofthe laser diode; an encasement enclosing said laser diode, said lens andsaid controller; wherein said encasement is adapted to be hand held bythe user; and wherein the device includes a safety mechanism thatactivates the device by pressing the device against the illuminatedobject, the safety mechanism comprising: two microswitches within theencasement; and two spring-loaded sliders positioned at opposite sidesof the lens, individual sliders being configured to depress respectiveindividual microswitches in turn configured to instruct the controllerto activate the laser diode.
 2. A laser therapy device according toclaim 1, wherein said lens is a toroidal lens having a different lensradius in the direction producing the length of the illuminated area andthe direction producing the width of the illuminated area; wherein theradius in both directions is selected to provide as output a collimatedbeam in the two orthogonal directions resulting from the naturaldivergence of the laser diode.
 3. A laser therapy device according toclaim 1, wherein the beam produced by said laser diode exhibits awavelength between 800-900 nm as an infrared laser beam.
 4. A lasertherapy device according to claim 3, further comprising a visible lightsource configured to produce a visible light beam that is combined withthe laser beam to provide a visible light as an indication of thepresence of the infrared laser beam.
 5. A laser therapy device accordingto claim 4, wherein the visible light source is mounted, so that theimage of the light source is in the focal plane of the lens.
 6. A lasertherapy device according to claim 5, wherein the device is configured toproduce the visible light beam to surround the infrared laser beamforming a frame enclosing the infrared laser beam.
 7. A laser therapydevice according to claim 3, wherein the laser diode exhibits a poweroutput of 100-900 mW.
 8. A laser therapy device according to claim 1,wherein said controller is adapted to control a duty cycle of the laserdiode.
 9. A laser therapy device according to claim 8, wherein saidcontroller is adapted to increase the duty cycle of the laser diode tomaintain a constant power output although the intensity of the laserdiode changes over time as a result of performance deterioration.
 10. Alaser therapy device according to claim 8, wherein the duty cycle of thebeam produced by the laser diode is initially less than 50%.
 11. A lasertherapy device according to claim 1, wherein the illuminated area formsa rectangular or ellipsoidal shaped area.
 12. A laser therapy deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the beam formed is an eye safe beam.
 13. Alaser therapy device according to claim 1, wherein the laser therapydevice is configured to irradiate the surface with the formed beamdirectly from the lens.
 14. A laser therapy device according to claim 1,wherein the controller is configured to produce a pulse length of 10-20μs.
 15. A laser therapy device, comprising: a laser diode that isadapted to produce a monochromatic laser beam that naturally diverges intwo orthogonal directions; a lens that is adapted to receive the beamdirectly from the laser diode and to exploit the natural divergence ofthe laser diode in two orthogonal directions to form an essentiallycoherent monochromatic, collimated beam in the two orthogonal directionsas output from the lens; the formed beam being adapted to form on aplane perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the beam anelongated illuminated area in which the length of the illuminated areais at least twice the size of the width of the illuminated area as aresult of collimating the beam while exploiting the natural divergenceof the laser diode and the laser therapy device being configured toirradiate a surface with the formed beam without further modification ofthe formed beam; a controller that is adapted to control activation ofthe laser diode; an encasement enclosing said laser diode, said lens andsaid controller; wherein said encasement is adapted to be hand held bythe user; and wherein a cross-section of the beam at a back surface ofthe lens is a same size and shape as the back surface and theilluminated area is the same size and shape as the cross-section.
 16. Alaser therapy device according to claim 15, wherein said controller isadapted to control a duty cycle of the laser diode and to increase aduty cycle of the laser diode to maintain a constant power outputalthough the intensity of the laser diode changes over time as a resultof performance deterioration.
 17. A laser therapy device according toclaim 15, wherein the laser therapy device is configured to irradiatethe surface with the formed beam directly from the lens.
 18. A lasertherapy device according to claim 15, wherein said lens is a toroidallens having a different lens radius in the direction producing thelength of the illuminated area and the direction producing the width ofthe illuminated area; wherein the radius in both directions is selectedto provide as output a collimated beam in the two orthogonal directionsresulting from the natural divergence of the laser diode.
 19. A lasertherapy device, comprising: a laser diode that exhibits a power outputof 100-900 mW and is adapted to produce a monochromatic laser beam witha wavelength between 800-900 nm as an infrared laser beam that naturallydiverges in two orthogonal directions; a toroidal lens that is adaptedto receive the beam directly from the laser diode and to exploit thenatural divergence of the laser diode in two orthogonal directions toform an essentially coherent monochromatic, collimated beam in the twoorthogonal directions as output from the lens; the formed beam beingadapted to form on a plane perpendicular to the direction of propagationof the beam an elongated illuminated area in which the length of theilluminated area is at least twice the size of the width of theilluminated area as a result of collimating the beam while exploitingthe natural divergence of the laser diode; a visible light sourceconfigured to produce a visible light beam combined with the laser beamto provide an indication of the presence of the infrared laser beam, thelaser therapy device being configured to produce the visible light beamto surround the infrared laser beam forming a frame enclosing theinfrared laser beam; a controller that is adapted to control activationof the laser diode and to update a duty cycle of the laser diode tomaintain a constant power output although the intensity of the laserdiode changes over time as a result of performance deterioration; and anencasement enclosing said laser diode, said lens and said controller;wherein said encasement is adapted to be hand held by the user; and asafety mechanism configured to activate the device when pressing thedevice against the illuminated object, the safety mechanism including amicroswitch within the encasement and a slider configured to depress themicroswitch in turn configured to instruct the controller to activatethe laser diode.
 20. A laser therapy device according to claim 19,wherein the laser therapy device is configured to irradiate the surfacewith the formed beam directly from the lens.